Bengaluru Rural MP, D.K. Suresh, the younger brother of energy minister D.K. Shivakumar is no longer a political novice. The convenor of Karnataka Congress MPs Forum in Delhi, is in the new as he has been tasked to set up a meeting between party MPs and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to iron out differences.
During an interview with DC, Mr Suresh took pains to make politically correct statements leaving one to read between the lines and decode the loaded statements. Here are excerpts.
Can you share details of Congress MPs from Karnataka holding a meeting last week in Delhi?
Some MPs feel bad that even for courtesy’s sake, the chief minister does not meet us. Elections will be due in two years. We have to gear up the cadre. The Central ministers and BJP leaders keep speaking about funds released for railway projects and other programmes in the state. Whenever we approach central departments, their standard reply is: let the state release funds, we will give matching grants. If MPs are taken into confidence and information shared, we can take up issues in Parliament. The MPs meeting is not something new. This time we said whenever the CM comes to Delhi, he should meet us for half an hour. Since I am the convenor, they told me to fix an appointment. Some people said since Veerappa Moily is senior, he should speak to the CM. I think by now, he (Moily) might have spoken to the CM. Our request is: once in a while, please use us. We are not against you or the government. We are completely out of the loop. We should be taken into confidence. We are not for leadership change. We want to strengthen the party under his leadership.
Going by what you said, there seems to be a communication gap between Congress MPs and the chief minister
No. A few of us keep going to the CM if we have constituency related work. But not all (MPs). If there are state issues, he has to meet us and discuss at regular intervals.
Seeing the way the forum was created and you made the convenor, it looks like MPs are challenging the CM?
Absolutely not. This forum is two years old. Every time we go for the Parliament session, we meet at an MP’s house. We discuss various issues. This time, Veerappa Moily said he would arrange a dinner, so we met.
You said the media is creating an uproar. But Congress leaders like H. Vishwanath, S.M. Krishna, Janardhan Poojary and AICC general secretary B.K. Hariprasad have vented their anger against the chief minister
Mr Krishna is a senior leader, so is Mr Vishwanath and Mr Poojary. Mr Hariprasad is in Delhi and since he is the AICC general secretary, he knows about political developments. All these leaders are free to express their views. The tone might be different, but all of them want the party to retain power in 2018. If we want to do this, all should be taken along. No one said the chief minister should be replaced. The CM is doing a good job. But, the drought, a series of farmer suicides, power scarcity and many such issues came as a shock to us.
Does this mean the entire team including the captain (Siddaramaiah) has failed?
No. The Chief Minister has given emphasis to SC and ST development, announced a lot of agriculture schemes. The focus is on agriculture.
For argument’s sake, one can agree with you. But if you see the performance of the party in the Assembly by-polls, ZP and TP elections, isn’t it a flop show?
If we take the percentage of votes, we got the highest. But the BJP brings Modi’s name everywhere and youngsters are still in favour of Modi. Therefore, we need to speed up our publicity campaign, take government programmes to the masses.
You can cite percentage of votes for your convenience. But to get power, you need seats.
We have two more years. The chief minister and his team are working round the clock. All ministers are touring the state. They will come to know what people want. And once they return, they will fulfil what people want.
Instead of beating round the bush, let’s put it straight- the caste calculation does not favour a change of CM, isn’t it?
Absolutely not. If caste were to determine our political future, why would anyone work like this? Why we should bother about drought or think of development? The CM is doing a good job. Some will accept his style of functioning, a few others will not. We can’t satisfy all. But at the same time, we cannot keep quiet. We have to address grievances of the dissatisfied. I think the CM will do it.
Moving on, there is a strong buzz that your brother, D.K. Shivakumar will become KPCC president..
The appointment of a new KPCC president will be decided by the high command. They will consult the chief minister, the incumbent president and seniors. There are seniors who might be in the race. Mr Shivakumar is a minister, yet some people are mentioning his name.
He is a mass leader, has proved his ability and is a community leader too. Doesn’t he have strong prospects?
No one is appointed on the basis of caste.
When you mention Lingayats, people rally around B.S. Yeddyurappa. But when it comes to Vokkaligas, the community does not necessarily rally around him (Shivakumar)because there is Deve Gowda..
If your logic is true, leaders like Shamanoor Shivashankarappa and M.B. Patil could not have won polls. Vokkaligas do not identify with H.D. Kumaraswamy or Deve Gowda alone. Then, Ambareesh, me or A. Manju would not have won elections. No major community backs one party. If that were the case, no backward class leader would have become CM. Deve Gowda became PM not because he is a Vokkaliga. He represented the farming community.
You and your brother want to finish the Gowda family so that Congress can capture the whole of south Karnataka. But Mr S.M. Krishna is praising H.D. Deve Gowda. They jointly said Vokkaligas should unite. Many say it will help Janata Dal (Secular) consolidate Vokkaliga votes.
Neither me nor my brother are opposed to the Gowda family. We are identified with one party and they with the other. When Mr Gowda and Mr Krishna shared a dais, they expressed their opinion casually, praised each other. These were not caste sentiments. Caste alone cannot help anyone win. The party, its principles and other factors contribute a lot to a poll victory.
